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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

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24 alternatives to ssh chat.shazow.net

Hi HN, I wrote a custom SSH server in Go, give it a try. It uses your terminal user and SSH keys to authenticate implicitly. Instead of getting a shell, you get an IRC-style chatroom with everyone else. $ ssh chat.shazow.net If you're getting "Permission denied (publickey)", please use ssh-keygen to create a keypair. Instructions here: https://help.github.com/articles/generating-ssh-keys/ SSH is a really cool protocol; it's a lot like HTTP2. This is a demo of one thing you can do with it, but I plan to factor out the code into libraries that will let you build all…

ssh chat.shazow.net is a custom SSH server written in Go that turns SSH connections into an IRC-style chatroom. Instead of providing a shell, it authenticates users implicitly using their terminal username and existing… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. ssh chat.shazow.net launched in 2014; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1IM

    Run `ssh devzat.hackclub.com` to try it out! The repo is here: https://github.com/quackduck/devzat (golang). It has markdown and emoji support, DMs, channels, and it can show images too. You can send code, and it gets syntax highlighted (you can change the theme). You can ping people like so: @user and it sends them a \a, which should play an audible sound if the terminal allows it. There's inbuilt games and rainbow names and a lot of other small things I don't remember right now. You might find the auth system interesting: it's based on a hash of ssh pubkey (bans use…

    2022 · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Like Slack, but opensource and self-hosted.

    2015 · sdelements.github.io · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    We talk about a new feature in Teleconsole:\ you can turn any laptop into a secure and publicly accessible SSH server which uses Github SSH keys for authentication.

    2017 · gravitational.com · its alternatives →

  4. 4
    Devzat▲144

    Chat with other devs over SSH in your Terminal

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    Self-hosted chat for small teams.

    2015 · sdelements.github.io · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    End-to-end encrypted chat built into Keybase

    2017 · keybase.io · its alternatives →

  7. 7KS

    Hi HN! I built KeyPub.sh to solve the problem of user verification for CLI applications. It's essentially OAuth for the terminal, but using SSH keys that developers and users already have. - No installation needed - works with existing SSH setup - Privacy-focused: users control what email info is shared - Simple email verification process - Free public service - Perfect for CLI app developers who don't want to build user verification Try it with: `$ ssh keypub.sh about` Source code: https://github.com/skariel/keypub

    2024 · keypub.sh · its alternatives →

  8. 8
    Sshush▲191

    Private chatrooms for founders that disappear in 24 hrs

    2021 · its alternatives →

  9. 9
    Keychat▲108

    Start a free secure chat with anyone without signing up

    2020 · its alternatives →

  10. 10SA

    Hello all :) I made this BBS for fun and thought you all would enjoy it. It's not perfect, but it's been a fun exercise! see it: https://asciinema.org/a/Emg6SWrXMV6cehfQxrw1GRu75 try it: ssh -p 2223 shhhbb.com host it: https://github.com/donuts-are-good/shhhbb/releases/latest why? Every year I challenge myself in some new way, this year it is to push one project per week. You might recognize my static site generator [0] or my releaser for go [1] from previous posts as one of these weekly projects. If you want to join me in doing this, it's…

    2023 · donuts-are-good.github.io · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    Open-source live-chat, email support, omni-channel desk. An alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud etc. 🔥💬 - chatwoot/chatwoot

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Underground developer meeting room.

    2020 · consolechat.io · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    ts-ssh solves a specific problem: accessing machines on your Tailnet from environments where you can't install the full Tailscale daemon (like CI/CD runners or restricted systems). It uses Tailscale's tsnet library to establish userspace connectivity, then provides a standard SSH experience. Works with existing workflows since it supports normal SSH features like ProxyCommand, key auth, and terminal handling. Some features that proved useful: • Parallel command execution across multiple hosts • Built-in tmux session management for multi-host work • SCP-style file transfers • Works on…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14
  15. 15

    The `boring` SSH tunnel manager. Contribute to alebeck/boring development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    So first, what are we? A Clubhouse inside the terminal, where people can take a break, chill, chat with others all around the globe, listen to music, play some games, or paint on a live artboard :). ssh late.sh (or use the companion CLI) That's all. No passwords. No OAuth. No accounts. Your SSH key is your identity. Honestly, I've been a little nervous to post this. I wanted the Clubhouse to be something I'm genuinely proud of before sharing, and I think we are finally there :) There is so much here, so I'll really try to focus on the core: - full-scale chat, mentions, rooms, public and…

    Jun 2026 · late.sh · its alternatives →

  17. 17PC

    A little while back I remember seeing a user on a certain anonymous imageboard asking for an invite to a selective email host. Only after a few minutes did the guy realize the perplexity of the situation. How do you insure against a race condition in a public forum with no way to direct message? Luckily, he nabbed the invite code, but it got me thinking about using PGP to provide a solution. This is meant to be a rough PoC and the UX is definitely not ready for the average Joe, but the functionality I'd like to think is there. What catbox.moe is to dropbox is what I'd like this to eventually…

    2022 · pubkey.pm · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Grownetics DevOps Open Source

    2019 · gitlab.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    A secure chat button for every profile

    2017 · book.keybase.io · its alternatives →

  20. 20
    KeyBox▲70

    A web-based SSH console

    2014 · sshkeybox.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    Use Touch ID / Secure Enclave for SSH Authentication! - sekey/sekey

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

  22. 22SB
  23. 23FI
  24. 24

    SSH access for developers. Secure, European, done right.

    May 2026 · securssh.com · its alternatives →

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